Engineering strategies for the prevention of falls and fall-related injuries

跌倒是加拿大受伤的头号原因，对老年人造成的伤亡尤其严重，90%以上的髋部骨折和手腕骨折都是由跌倒造成的。拟议的研究计划将产生改进的老年人跌倒和跌伤风险诊断技术，以及在跌倒事件中增强平衡和降低受伤风险的新设备。在预防跌倒方面，我们将开发新的措施，这些措施足够复杂，可以识别导致平衡障碍的生理机制，但又足够简单，可以在医生办公室使用。我们还将研究新型鞋类增强姿势稳定性的可能性，这种鞋类提供了更好的支撑基础，并在站立时增加了脚踝扭矩。在防止跌倒时受伤方面，我们将开发软壳髋关节保护器，这种保护器能够提供与硬壳保护器类似或更好的力量衰减，硬壳保护器存在用户依从性差的问题。我们还将为疗养院和医院设计低硬度、防摔倒的地板，这种地板可以减弱冲击力，但不会太软，以至于破坏平衡并导致摔倒。最后，我们将开发可穿戴传感器和微处理器，用于检测日常生活中的滑倒、绊倒和跌倒(以及锻炼计划和环境调整对姿势稳定性的影响)，以及测量跌倒时的冲击力。拟议的研究包括培训高素质的人员，并有针对性地努力将结果传播到生物力学研究社区之外的卫生保健行业和专业人员。这项基础和应用研究的五年计划将为预防伤害和提高老年人的生活质量提供有价值的新工具。

Falls are the number-one cause of injury in Canada, and exert a particularly heavy toll on the elderly, as the cause of over 90% of hip fractures and wrist fractures. The proposed research program will generate improved techniques for diagnosing risk for falls and fall injuries among the elderly, and novel devices for enhancing balance and reducing risk for injury in the event of a fall. With regard to fall prevention, we will develop new measures that are complex enough to identify the physiological mechanisms that are causing balance impairment, yet simple enough for use in a doctor's office. We will also examine the potential for enhancing postural stability with novel footwear, which provides an enhanced base of support and increased ankle torque during stance. With regard to preventing injuries in the event of a fall, we will develop soft-shell hip protectors that are capable of providing similar or better force attenuation that rigid-shell protectors, which suffer from poor user compliance. We will also design low-stiffness, fall-proof flooring for use in nursing homes and hospitals, which attenuates impact force but is not so soft that it impairs balance and causes falls. Finally, we will develop wearable sensors and microprocessors for detecting slips, trips, and falls in daily life (and the influence on postural stability of exercise programs and environmental modifications), and for measuring impact forces during falls. The proposed research incorporates training of highly qualified personnel, and targeted efforts to disseminate results beyond the biomechanics research community to the health care industry and professionals. This five year program of basic and applied research will provide valuable new tools for preventing injuries and enhancing quality of life in elderly individuals.